Infrastructure is no longer static, immovable, or inflexible — and neither should be an IT pro’s skill set.
Take a look at 10 of the hottest Infrastructure skills that IT pros should be considering today.
1. Cloud Security
The sad reality about new IT technologies is that security is often an afterthought. Cloud computing came along and people jumped onboard before a robust and well-planned security roadmap could be established. Because of this, many early cloud adopters are scrambling to re-architect their cloud services with advanced security. While cloud security essentially uses the same tools found in traditional infrastructure security, there are more things to consider. Security considerations ranging from third-party data storage, data access, and even multi-tenancy issues are new skills you can acquire.
2. Software-Defined WANs
As a whole, it’s going to take some time for end-to-end software defined networking (SDN) to take hold. But one specific aspect of SDN, namely software-defined WANs, can and should be implemented today. For many companies, SD-WAN will be their first foray into SDN — and it’s a skill that will be the tip of the “software-defined” iceberg.
3. Cloud Service Broker
As server and network infrastructures continue to be outsourced into the cloud, some in-house infrastructure administrators are left wondering what role they may play in the not-too-distant future. One skill set that will be useful is that of a cloud service broker. In this role, the broker will evaluate various cloud services and form/maintain relationships with them on behalf of the organisation. And, while negotiating contracts may be a major skills change for many administrators, this role still requires a deep understanding of the underlying infrastructure technologies that cloud providers offer. So if you’re looking to still use the technical skills you have, while also seeking to move toward more of a non-technical role, then this might be the right fit for you.
4. Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs)
Next-generation firewall skills are currently in very high demand. Today’s NGFWs not only incorporate traditional layer 3/4 access controls and stateful inspection, they also perform layer 7 packet inspection to identify and apply policy traffic based on application type. In many ways, the NGFW is the linchpin for other modern security tools — and thus a skillset that every enterprise will soon require.
5. Cloud-Managed Networking
Cloud-managed networking is still in its infancy. Wireless LANs were the first part of the network to move to the cloud. But because of the popularity of cloud-managed WLANs, routing, switching, and network security is also becoming more popular. While networking is networking, regardless of where it’s managed, most vendors are using completely new interfaces that administrators must master.
6. Collaboration
It used to be that enterprise collaboration tools consisted of desk phones, videoconference rooms, and perhaps a chat client. But these days, collaboration is far more wide reaching. We’re talking about personal meeting rooms with full HD video capabilities, smartphone apps that fully mimic your office phone and chat applications, and shared project-management tools that tightly integrate with other enterprise tools such as mail and calendaring. Collaboration tools are becoming hugely popular in the new “work from anywhere” world in which we live.
7. Mobile Device Management (MDM)
The use of employee-owned mobile devices and laptops in the enterprise continues to explode. Most enterprise applications these days have smartphone or Web-based apps that employees can — and do — use. Companies that were early BYOD adopters are finding that their infrastructure is left vulnerable because there is little to no security protecting potentially insecure devices from accessing company resources — or from preventing the loss of intellectual property on personal devices. Mobile device management is a popular way to alleviate many of these problems — and thus it is a great skill to know.
8. Malware Sandboxing
Advanced malware is becoming an increasingly difficult problem for enterprises to tackle. Even with the use of tools like next-generation firewalls, intrusion prevention, advanced security gateways, and desktop malware prevention, advanced malware often squeaks through. Malware sandboxes are one of the newest and most popular tools used to catch malware that other tools can’t. Data flagged as potentially suspicious is placed in a simulated and segregated environment called a sandbox. The data then is allowed onto the simulated network, where it’s run through a gauntlet of tests to determine if the code starts doing something malicious. For security administrators, malware sandboxing is a great tool to have in the tool belt — and one that’s likely to grow in popularity.
9. Application Containers
Many people think application containers are the next evolutionary step in data center virtualization. Instead of virtualizing entire servers to host a single application, application containers allow for essentially the same thing, except they’re running on a single OS. An application container does this by creating virtual containers that enable OS settings unique to one particular application and hiding them from other applications. Data centers can run the same number of applications with far lower memory and storage requirements. Those who are heavily involved in server virtualization absolutely must look into containers.
10. Data Center Switching
Switching in the data center is far more advanced — and far more specialized — than it used to be. Today’s data centers often use a combination of switching, virtualized routing, and various application load-balancing and high-availability techniques that are growing in complexity. Add to this SDN’s creep into data center switching architectures and you have an area of networking that is highly complex, cutting edge, and in high demand.
Conclusion
Not only does this list encompass a wide range of infrastructure responsibilities, the skills also vary in technical complexity. In the end, there is almost certainly a skill or two that any infrastructure administrator has (or soon will have) on their “to learn” lists. The world of IT Infrastructure is growing rapidly, therefore this skill list will continue to expand over the course of time.
For more news on Information Technology, visit our ‘latest industry news’ page by following this link!
If you are looking for a new career within the IT Industry, check out our latest jobs by visiting our Jobs Page!
– Andrew Froehlich
